Govt rules out airport curfew changes

Anthony Albanese says the Federal Government will not heed Qantas and Singapore Airlines' calls to relax the Sydney Airport curfew as long as he is federal Transport Minister.

The airlines say the 11:00pm to 6:00am curfew should be overhauled to help ease growing airport congestion because the newest aircraft are quieter, but residents under flight paths say there is already too much aircraft noise.

Qantas and Singapore Airlines also want a relaxation of the cap that prevents them from putting on more than 80 flights an hour.

Sydney Airport predicts its passenger numbers will double over the next 20 years, but the airlines say they will not be able to cater for the growth with the current flight restrictions.

Mr Albanese says there is bipartisan support for the 12-year-old limit staying.

"I think for those people who live around the airport being woken up in the middle of the night wouldn't be acceptable," he said.

"There are four curfews in place at airports around Australia. We've indicated that none of them are up for negotiation, full stop...

"In my view, no government is likely to shift on either the curfew or the cap."

The Federal Government says it is still considering options for a second airport outside the Sydney basin.

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